September 11, 2017

FESTIVAL WOWS

It is festival time folks and perhaps the best time of the year when we tog up for end-of-the-year celebration marathon. The festive season is also the time when designers step up their action and come out with best designs.

Yes, dress to get noticed. The catwalk trends that you can incorporate for those auspicious occasions include lehengas, saris with brocade borders, ornate jackets, pants and glamourized long blouses.

From shimmer and sparkle to quirky and minimalist, there’s something for everybody. So here’s looking at the hautest festival trends that are worth investing in.

Lehenga Tales

What’s a festival without an ornate lehenga-choli? Yes, you heard it right. Lehengas still dominate the festive fashion lookbook as designers go all out adding twist to this favourite traditional attire. Lehengas with florals blooming all over are high in demand. While Arpita Mehta has ruffled floral lehengas and lehenga skirt hybrids, Hyderabad based designer Anushree Reddy has used jewel tones and intricate zari work, frills, scallop details on her lehengas teamed with off-shoulder cholis. Style tip: while brighter shades are a perennial favourite, black and whites too are doing well.

Boho Chic

Fuss free and playful seems to be the mantra this season. Take for instance, Sonal Varma of Rara Avis who has playful silhouettes like floor-length maxi dresses with cold-shoulder details and kimono styled dress with leather belt. On the other hand, Shweta Kapur has beaded biker jackets with white shirts, leather pants and sequined mini dress.

New-Age Sari

If it is festival can saris be left behind? You just can’t miss the swanky avatars of saris across the country. From comfortable drapes to gossamer fabrics, it’s one traditional outfit which has never been out of fashion. Gaurang Shah has been inspired by the frescoes from the Ajanta Caves. He has done hand-painted Kalamkari on a range of Kanchipuram silks with glittering borders by using natural dyes. Meanwhile Anavila Mishra’s festive line has classic shades like black and grey in linen, cotton, silk and wool using Jharkhand’s Khatwa embroidery. Wear it during the day in office or in the evenings, her new-age saris are versatile and can be teamed with a jacket or a tee. Designer Sailesh Singhania on the other hand has used a vibrant colour palette like orange, purple, fuschia pink and green which can be teamed perfectly with a trench coat or pea coat.

Corset Love

Clinched waists and corsets are attracting the fashion-forward buyers. Team broad corset belts over silk saris which will enhance a bit of definition to the waist. Masaba Gupta’s corset saris are much in demand which comes in classical Indian colours like raani pink, yellow and pale blue. While Ritu Kumar has romper-corsets and corset top for a playful look, Kriti Tula of Doodlage has leather or upcycled corset belt on her long and short dresses.

Get Ruffled

This is one trend that is refusing to go away soon. Ruffles – on dresses and sleeves – are found everywhere. Yes, get your favourite lehenga flaunt some ruffled edges. Take a look at Jayanti Reddy whose focal point is ruffles in dresses and blouses. Sonali Pamnani of The Meraki Project has puffed sleeves and ruffles in the hemlines of her flirty dresses. A word of advice: don’t end up looking childish by sporting too much jewellery.

Sheer Delight

Sheer has been a rage and will continue to work its magic for more time. Nachiket Barve has taken inspiration from timeless beauty of Greco-Roman Goddesses by using sheers on lehengas, dupattas and poncho tops. Manish Malhotra too has sheer in his line of embroidered floral gowns whereas Ritu Kumar has soft net and sheer corsets teamed with shorts.

So now that you know the hottest trends doing the rounds this festive season, it’s time to recharge your wardrobe.